God Forsaken

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Right now, many places in the world appear God forsaken. How do you feel about that statement? What do you think non-believers are thinking now? Do they, or we, see God’s hand? Is He asleep? How do we answer anyone’s doubts, even our own?

Stubborn faith is one answer. We choose to believe in love regardless of the current situation. How can this viral disaster occur, and hundreds of thousands lose their lives if God is love? Are we forsaken? Has God removed His grace or His protection?  We believe we are not forsaken because we choose to believe.  But can we know beyond our stubborn belief?

It is in times like these that we need to know God in our hearts, not just in our minds. We can say, “The Bible says . . .,” but in our hearts we need to know that Yahweh loves us and cares about us. I know God is present and listening because of the nudge upon me to pray. I’ve begun to develop prayer spots on my bike riding circuit where I stop, rest and pray. It’s turning into a thing where I am looking for good places to stop and pray for a few minutes. I am very aware this is not my thought or idea but something the Father is leading me into. He wants me to pray more because He wants more intercessors on the planet. Though I have never considered myself an intercessor, it is clear that Father wants me praying more than normal. This is one of the ways I know we are not forsaken. Our God is here and speaking.  He is leading us individually and collectively.

I have also seen blessing during this time. How can that be? How can there be any blessing in the midst of a world-wide viral outbreak? There is always blessing when God is near. His nature attracts blessing; it overflows from His presence. I am sure you have seen kindnesses that would have been uncommon previously. In those things, I see the goodness of God welling up in people and know that He is near.

When you look at the bad things that are happening around the world, it is hard to see the hand of God but when you look around your world, you may see indications of God’s love and grace. I hope you do. As you activate your faith, those things become more obvious and those are the things you may want to share with others. They are also the things which grow your faith. As we believe that God is present, we not only see Him better, but it becomes easier and more imperative for us to join with Him.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. Prayer is the natural outcome of belief that our Father is on the scene and paying attention. We are not forsaken and we know it. We need not fear nor be dismayed. God is going before us as our forward guard and preparing our way. He will tell us, “This is the way walk in it,” and then our faith activates. We are all in this together, not just as human beings, but with our Father too. He will never leave nor forsake us and knowing that gives us confidence.